GTA TeleGuam Hits New Milestones in 2010, Looks Ahead to New Year

 

Momentum, community involvement promise continued strong sales growth in 2011

TAMUNING, Guam – (December 30, 2010) – As the first decade in the 21st century comes to a close, GTA TeleGuam said Thursday that its momentum going into the new year promises continued strong growth for its integrated communications services on Guam.

Across all four major lines of business – wireless, high-speed Internet access, digital television and landline phone service – GTA TeleGuam achieved new milestones and record results during 2010.

It boosted its international communications capacity by about 80 percent, mostly to the U.S. Mainland and Japan, in anticipation of the military buildup on Guam.

And, GTA TeleGuam this year invested about $300,000 in cash and in-kind contributions to more than 100 not-for-profit organizations on the island. Active local community involvement is a key business strategy for GTA TeleGuam and its employees who volunteer their time for many worthy causes.

"Everything GTA TeleGuam did in 2010 was intended to better serve our GTA stakeholders including our customers, our investors and our employees who all live and work on Guam," said Marie Mesa, executive vice president of people for GTA TeleGuam.

"Our results for 2010 speak for themselves," Mesa added. "GTA TeleGuam employees have proven time and again that they can step up and compete effectively in an extremely competitive local communications marketplace.

"We are still the underdog in that other local competitors are larger in their respective market areas; the only segment in which we are number one in market share is the diminishing landline business," said Roland Certeza, executive vice president of sales and marketing for GTA TeleGuam.

"The growth is in wireless, Internet and TV," Certeza said.

"GTA TeleGuam has proven that it can be a catalyst for innovation and value for customers on Guam by introducing new services like Blackberry, iPhone, business Metro Ethernet and 100 percent digital television," Certeza said.

As a government entity six years ago, GTA was restricted from offering digital wireless services. Back then, wireless competition in Guam was limited, prices were high, and customers had fewer choices.

During 2010, GTA TeleGuam surpassed 30,000 MPULSE wireless customers, growing its market share from about two percent before privatization to about 25 percent in 2010.

Customers began moving to GTA TeleGuam because the company started offering innovative new services and increased values. GTA TeleGuam is the only authorized Guam carrier to offer customers the choice of all three smartphone types: iPhone, BlackBerry and Android.

iPhone 4 has been in high demand since GTA TeleGuam began selling it last September. December 2010 was a record-setting sales month for GTA TeleGuam wireless devices.

Also during 2010, GTA TeleGuam surpassed 10,000 households and businesses with its SPYDER broadband Internet access using DSL technology. Before privatization, GTA TeleGuam was also legally blocked from offering certain broadband services. Bundling Internet access with digital TV, wireless or landline service drove GTA TeleGuam's rapid growth in this market segment.

Through bundling, GTA TeleGuam grew from zero to more than 6,000 households and businesses with its 100 percent digital television service called GUdTV after launching the service just two years ago. During the past year, GTA TeleGuam added more than a dozen new video and music channels, including The Filipino Channel, offering consumers a competitive alternative to standard cable television.

Although landline phone service is a shrinking business segment, GTA TeleGuam also made substantial investments and major strides on improving the local telephone network and ensuring continuity of vital communications during emergencies, power outages and typhoons.

GTA TeleGuam improved its time-to-repair measurements and reduced the number of trouble reports per average customer, through proactive network monitoring and maintenance. According to internal survey results, 95 percent of GTA TeleGuam customers say they would recommend the company to other prospective customers.

"We are far from perfect but we have made solid progress on service levels in 2010," said Carl Leon Guerrero , vice president of operations for GTA TeleGuam. "I am sure people have noticed our crews out there all year working on upgrading our network. Please pardon our progress!"

GTA TeleGuam has invested about $85 million in Guam's communications infrastructure in the six years after privatization, with more than $10 million coming in 2010.

Perhaps the single most significant GTA TeleGuam accomplishment in the past year was the company's ability to attract a new owner that is ready to make new investments, offer fresh ideas and lead GTA TeleGuam through its next growth phase.

"The investment from funds served by Advantage Partners LLC is good for all stakeholders because it preserves the competitive telecom environment on the island without reducing the number of competitors and local jobs, which is typical in mergers and acquisitions," Mesa said

"Through this transaction, GTA TeleGuam maintains a strong supportive owner that intends to continue investing in infrastructure, services and people. This helps GTA TeleGuam to better serve customers and aggressively tap the growing communications market in Guam," said Mesa, noting GTA TeleGuam will continue operating with business as usual.

The transaction is subject to approval by the Guam Public Utilities Commission and the FCC. GTA TeleGuam expects to complete the ownership change mid-year 2011.

The new owner intends to retain existing management and all employees. GTA TeleGuam has more than 325 local employees. It operates six retail outlets in Guam.

For 2011, GTA TeleGuam is planning to expand its communications bundle offerings, introduce more innovative products and services, and make new capital investments to stay ahead of demand. This benefits the public-at-large because it encourages all competitors to also improve or risk market share losses.

"Although GTA TeleGuam achieved remarkable results since it was freed to openly compete after privatization, the best years are ahead of us," Mesa said. "GTA TeleGuam is very grateful for the ongoing confidence and loyalty our local customers have toward our company and employees." GTA TeleGuam was first to introduce the popular BlackBerry smartphone on Guam in September 2006. The company is the only authorized carrier for the iPhone in Guam.